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00:00I don't want to turn bow. You're the best.
00:02Cheers.
00:03The best man.
00:05You're joking.
00:06Oh, brilliant!
00:08I've got to get cracking on a box note.
00:12We're not gonna run out of air.
00:13Let's get on the floor.
00:15Let's get on the floor.
00:16Let's get down here, okay?
00:20Hello?
00:21Hello?
00:22You should probably take Frankie.
00:24Permanently.
00:25So she's not pulled between two people.
00:30Well, I dismember them with a rusty old circular saw.
00:42I mean, yeah.
00:44One of those serrated blade jobbies, you know, really fire it up.
00:47Start with their arms and legs.
00:49Me!
00:53Crime fiction bestseller, Brendan Trapmore,
00:55starting our festival with a bang.
01:00Um, Bill Pereira, author of the critically acclaimed Alex Thorne Mysteries.
01:06What's your perfect murder?
01:08If I had to choose, it would be something silent, untraceable.
01:12Boredom to death.
01:15I was going to suggest the pillow over the face.
01:17Leaves no evidence, almost foolproof.
01:19Gripping stuff.
01:21Lina.
01:22Lina.
01:23Yes?
01:24You had us all gasping for breath with the latest instalment of your mermaid-themed
01:28romanticy series, The Siren's Conch.
01:33How would you do away with your victim?
01:35Well, murder isn't something that I turn my mind to very often.
01:39I think that my readers prefer drowning in desire.
01:42Woo!
01:43Woo!
01:44Woo!
01:49Brendan, you've always said that when you're writing Johnny Fox, you had to live his life.
01:55Wasn't it dangerous, immersing yourself in the criminal underworld?
01:59I mean, there's no other way to get inside a story.
02:02That's why Johnny Fox feels so real.
02:06What about Lina's work?
02:07Hmm?
02:08Do you expect her to breathe underwater or to commune with Poseidon for her...
02:13Sorry, what's the genre again, Lina?
02:15It's mermaid smut, right?
02:18Romanticy.
02:20I think that the true appeal of my work is the celebration of women unashamedly owning
02:26and satisfying their desires.
02:28Woo!
02:29Maybe the idea of a satisfied woman is foreign to you, Brendan.
02:35Well, in the words of Johnny Fox, there's nothing as lethal as a woman's love.
02:41But hey, you know, whatever floats your boat.
02:44I mean, who cares if the critics call it thinly disguised pornography?
02:49Well, they also called your novels Airport Pulp, as I recall.
02:54Oh, there you go.
02:55Well, here's your latest review.
02:57Aren't you officially retired?
03:00Writer's block?
03:01Wrong!
03:03Coming soon, my new novel.
03:06Branded a Johnny Fox mystery.
03:09A bikey gang is cutting a murderous wave across the country, leaving a slew of bodies in their wake, each victim branded on their wrist.
03:22Please tell me you didn't brand yourself.
03:24I told you.
03:25I've got to live Johnny Fox's life.
03:28Okay, but you killed him off in your last book.
03:30He's dead.
03:31It's going to take more than death to stop Johnny Fox.
03:34So, just, if you could, we just, we haven't even started the Q&A.
03:43Yeah, make yourself useful.
03:44We have questions.
03:45We have questions.
03:46We have questions.
03:49Okay, well, I'm his publisher, ladies and gentlemen, and not even I knew about that one.
03:54And that was our last question.
04:15Please thank our panelists, Lena Shaw, Will Pereira, and who knows where he's gone, Brendan Trotmore.
04:22Don't miss our next panel, Wave of Hormones, Coastal YA.
04:29We need to talk.
04:31He's written this before the panel started.
04:33Summoned.
04:34Whiskey and cigars with my girls after the panel.
04:37Good.
04:38Because he's got some explaining to do.
04:45You were brilliant.
04:46I'm going to go find a quiet place for this one.
04:50I love you.
04:51I love you too.
05:02Did you really not know about Brendan's new book?
05:04He wasn't a guaranteed bestseller.
05:06I'd kill him.
05:10Brendan, you owe me details.
05:17Look!
05:18Brendan?
05:24He's dead!
05:34He's dead!
05:35He's dead!
05:37MUSIC CONTINUES
06:06Oh, yeah, they're terrible.
06:08Oh, I couldn't put them down. Didn't sleep a wink. Brutality.
06:12Guest access only.
06:20Do we have a list of who was staying here?
06:22The only other ones that checked in were the two panellists and the moderator.
06:26OK. Reggie, can you tape off the area and Felix get statements from all the attendees?
06:30Yeah, sure. I'll do that.
06:37Killer dropped the knife, then.
06:39Looks like it.
06:41Oh, Glenn. Already here.
06:44Morning, Maya.
06:50The stab went to the upper chest.
06:52Any defence wounds?
06:54Not that I can see, no.
06:57Hmm.
07:00A writer who died with his pen in his hand.
07:04How poetic.
07:05The patch means death.
07:20A Johnny Fox mystery.
07:23That is absolutely savage.
07:25There's a scene in there with a pillar case full of broken glass.
07:28Gave me nightmares.
07:32Branded.
07:35The new Johnny Fox?
07:37Get him!
07:51A few bits of broken gold chain.
07:53Someone must have ripped the chain from Randy's neck.
07:56Mm-hmm.
07:57Did you check his pockets?
07:58Was there a wallet?
07:59Nothing in there.
08:01A broken gold chain.
08:02No wallet.
08:03Signs of forced entry here.
08:06Robbery gone wrong?
08:07Brendan came in through the back.
08:09Didn't see them.
08:10They got startled.
08:12He's still holding his pen, so clearly he was at the desk signing when the killer came in.
08:18The intruder broke the lock on the front door with...
08:25With what?
08:26With what?
08:27With...
08:28That.
08:30Huh.
08:39But it's already unlocked.
08:41It's nibbed to the right, so...
08:44So why smash it?
08:46Unless you...
08:47Wanted it to look like a robbery gone wrong.
08:51A horrible accident with...
08:54No premeditation.
08:57Huh.
08:58The killer didn't exit through the front door.
09:00They dropped the knife here as they left.
09:07We're surrounded by cliffs.
09:09There's only one way in.
09:10The guest only gate.
09:12So the killer had to be a salon with access.
09:14Mm-hmm.
09:18How's Frankie?
09:21Yeah, driving me nuts.
09:23Barking at every surfer that walks past.
09:27She misses you.
09:30Take her for a run if you wanted to.
09:33I think her claim breaks easier.
09:35Victims are walk-in pharmacy.
09:36Bathroom is full of prescription drugs.
09:37We'll get them tested.
09:38Hey.
09:39Don't work too late.
09:40You've got to be at the surf club for seven.
09:41Our box night.
09:42Our box?
09:43It's going to be debauchery and chaos.
09:44I've, uh...
09:45I've booked a magician.
09:46This is Glenn.
09:47Mackenzie.
09:49Uh, so, so who found the body?
09:50Uh, so, so who found the body?
09:51Uh, so?
09:52Uh, so, who found the body?
10:09Uh, so, so who found the body?
10:20Miranda East, I'm Brendan's publisher.
10:23I was, um, hosting the panel for Brendan and my other writers, Will Pereira and Lena here.
10:30The panel was from 10 till 11am?
10:33Yes, but Brendan, um, walked out early, about 10.30.
10:37Not for the first time either.
10:38He hates the Q&A.
10:39We have questions, we have questions.
10:42Typical Brendan, made his big announcement and then waltzed off.
10:46What was this announcement?
10:47His first book in five years, branded.
10:50But the manuscript was in his room.
10:51Well, so it exists.
10:53Hmm.
10:54Shouldn't his publisher know about his new novel?
10:57Well, you would think.
10:58Um, I had no idea it was even happening.
11:01He, uh, sprung it on us while we were on the panel.
11:04Loved to keep me and everyone on their toes.
11:06Nightmare, really.
11:07Hmm.
11:07Sounds like he was quite difficult to work with.
11:10No, no, not at all.
11:12I mean, he could be a bit erratic.
11:16You knew him pretty well?
11:18I used to be his assistant.
11:20Brendan, um, always encouraged me to write.
11:23Even when I didn't know what I was doing, he saw something in me.
11:29So, Brendan left the panel.
11:31The rest of you stayed for the Q&A.
11:34Why, why go to his villa afterwards?
11:36Oh, he, uh, he slipped me this note.
11:39Whiskey and cigars with my girls after the panel B.
11:48With my girls.
11:49Hmm, I know.
11:52Only slightly patronising.
11:54Uh, what happened when you got there?
11:56Um, so we, we went inside and he was, um, you know, covered in blood.
12:05Still holding his pen.
12:06And I, um, I tried to call the police, but I couldn't get any reception at the villa, so I had to run back out.
12:14In those?
12:16I broke a heel on my stupid drain.
12:18Do you know if Brendan had any enemies at all?
12:24Well, according to him, he had enemies baying for his blood from Hobart to Cape York.
12:31What about today?
12:32Anyone suspicious in the audience?
12:35Ginny would have noticed.
12:38My wife.
12:39She was filming the panel.
12:42I'll introduce you.
12:48No, no one's us.
12:54Just your usual book festival crowd.
12:57And you were at the panel the whole time?
12:59Yeah.
13:01Did you see anyone following Brendan when he left?
13:04Arlo was grizzling.
13:05I was trying to film it.
13:06We'll meet the footage.
13:08Yeah, I'll send it when I get a chance.
13:09Now?
13:10Please.
13:12Fine.
13:13But my camera's in the room.
13:18When Miranda left, what did you do?
13:26Well, I was right behind her.
13:27That's when we ran into Will.
13:30Brendan's dead here.
13:32He was coming up the path.
13:34Will Perera.
13:52Sorry, I'm not signing anything right now.
13:54Oh, I was so hoping you could make one out to Detective Sergeant Mackenzie Clark.
14:00Hello, Detective Sergeant.
14:01Was he really stabbed?
14:05Miranda said something about a knife.
14:07Yeah, but perhaps if I ask the questions.
14:09Of course.
14:12When did you last see Brendan?
14:13When he walked off.
14:15And you didn't leave the panel at all?
14:17No.
14:18What about after the Q&A?
14:20I signed some books and then headed back to my villa.
14:23Where did you bump into Miranda and Lena?
14:25In the garden.
14:26They were very shaken.
14:27I told them not to go back into Brendan's villa.
14:30Why?
14:30Well, they'd already disturbed the crime scene once.
14:33Not great for forensics if they kept going back in.
14:37Expert, are you?
14:38Not Detective.
14:39I've read a lot of crime novels.
14:41I know the basics.
14:43I've read them.
14:44You don't?
14:45Oh, yes.
14:55Now, this is interesting.
14:58I wonder who did the cover art?
15:00Now, that one, that's boring.
15:04Hang on.
15:05Hmm?
15:06Hmm.
15:08Hmm.
15:09Hmm.
15:09Yeah.
15:11A copy of Will's book has been placed in front of all of Brendan's.
15:16So, nobody's reported a robbery or anything suspicious.
15:20Staff accounted for. They were all at a meeting, nowhere near the villas.
15:24I just got to chase up a couple, but they'll get back to me soon.
15:27Who else had access?
15:28Just the four people on the panel.
15:30And Ginny, who was filming.
15:32One of them must have snuck out.
15:34Doesn't look like it. I've just skimmed through Ginny's footage.
15:37They're present the whole time.
15:42Brendan surprises everyone with the announcement of a new book.
15:45And then, 35 minutes later, he's dead.
15:50One of the enemies that Miranda and Lena mentioned?
15:53They couldn't have got in.
15:56The only people who could have killed Brendan had guest access,
15:59and they were all on that panel.
16:01I saw them on the footage. It's impossible.
16:08Yet somehow, it's not.
16:15Lena Shaw, author of mermaid-themed erotica, what are we calling it?
16:21Romanticy.
16:22Yeah, not my thing.
16:23Romance, absolutely.
16:24Bedelves in theories.
16:26No, thanks.
16:28Okay.
16:29She is the former assistant to Brendan.
16:31Miranda East, his publisher.
16:33And Will Pereira, who's, yes, another crime fiction author.
16:40Yes, that is the panel.
16:43And then Ginny Shaw, Lena's wife, she was filming the whole thing.
16:46Mm-hmm.
16:47You just, um, can I, why, what, what?
16:51Oh.
16:53It's for the books.
16:54Has that been airbrushed?
16:56No, it has not.
16:57Mackenzie?
16:59I've been reviewing the footage from the panel, and...
17:02Will is no fan of Brendan, I can tell you that.
17:04But, listen to this.
17:06My heroine, Elka, isn't based on myself.
17:08She's more of a combination of...
17:10Is that a baby boy?
17:12Ah, uh, Lena and Ginny's baby.
17:14Arlo.
17:15Oh, it's getting fainter.
17:20Ginny said she was at the panel the whole time,
17:22but it sounds like she left with the baby.
17:25Wait, I also just got an email from one of the staff that left early.
17:29He said he saw Brendan arguing with a woman holding a baby before the panel.
17:34She said, you have no idea who you're dealing with.
17:37Hmm.
17:38Well, we need to speak to Ginny again.
17:40Colin, I want that out of here.
17:43Oh.
17:45Oh.
17:46Oh.
17:47Oh.
17:48Oh.
17:49Oh.
17:50Oh.
18:00Oh.
18:01So sorry.
18:20Did you leave the panel this morning at any point?
18:23I took Arlo outside to change in.
18:25I was gone like five minutes.
18:27Yeah.
18:28Six minutes, actually.
18:29We can hear your return on the footage.
18:32I wasn't trying to hide it.
18:33I just forgot.
18:35I'm so sleep deprived I nearly brushed my teeth with nappy cream this morning.
18:38Did you have an altercation with Brendan prior to the panel?
18:41A small one.
18:43I'd just gotten Arlo to sleep and Brendan bumped into us, woke him up.
18:48You have no idea who you're dealing with.
18:51That sounds like a threat.
18:54Did I say that?
18:56I didn't mean to threaten him.
18:58I'm just on a very short fuse at the moment.
19:00I haven't slept more than a few hours in the three months since we had him.
19:04And we went to so much trouble to have him.
19:07Wasn't smooth sailing.
19:09Putting it lightly.
19:11But he was worth it.
19:12Actually, do you mind?
19:15No.
19:16Oh, hello.
19:19Oh, you're okay.
19:22Yeah.
19:27Must be tough, travelling with a baby.
19:29Wouldn't you rather stay at home?
19:30Oh, no.
19:32Lena's worked so hard to get away from Brendan to focus on her career.
19:35I just want to be as supportive as I can.
19:37Um, get away from him.
19:39I thought he encouraged her.
19:41She'd say that.
19:42But back when she was his assistant, she did everything for him.
19:47His cleaning, his research.
19:49Signed his books for him.
19:50The works.
19:50Sorry.
19:54He's a bit of a spewer.
19:59The Brendan Trapmore brand and manuscript?
20:02Oh, gosh.
20:04Inconsistent tenses.
20:05Spelling all over the shop.
20:07And the women?
20:08The characters aren't well-rounded at all.
20:10I mean, they're well-rounded, if you know what I mean.
20:13But their personalities are...
20:14..like you could do better.
20:16That is uncanny that you should say that, Felix.
20:23The Rocco files sophisticated crime fiction
20:28from a mature female perspective.
20:31Now, this little baby, she's ready for her first review.
20:34So, either of you keen to give it a go?
20:37Yeah?
20:40Yeah.
20:41Felix!
20:42Good.
20:43Thank you so much.
20:44I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.
20:48Peekies.
20:49Good on you, Felix.
20:57Whoa!
20:59Watch him.
21:01Oh, come on.
21:03All this space, and they parked this close.
21:07I think that's Miranda's car.
21:09This old bomb.
21:10Did you not see her high heels?
21:11That's a week's wages right there.
21:13And that broken heel.
21:14What a waste.
21:15Why do you think it's hers?
21:18Loafers.
21:18Under the steering wheel.
21:21You shouldn't drive a car in stilettos.
21:27Felix.
21:28Oh.
21:30A fight.
21:32Who?
21:33This is you and Brandon.
21:35Now, what else can I say?
21:37Shut up!
21:38Shut up!
21:38I swear to God, Brendan.
21:39Oh, what do you feel like?
21:40You're jealous.
21:41You're driving back.
21:42Anyway, Alex Thorne, he comes out.
21:44Ah!
21:44Ah!
21:45Ah!
21:45Ah!
21:46Ah!
21:46Ah!
21:47Ah!
21:47Ah!
21:48Ah!
21:48Ah!
21:49Ah!
21:49Ah!
21:50Ah!
21:50Ah!
21:51Ah!
21:51It looks like he took a real swing at Brendan there.
21:53I almost took out Lena as well.
21:55Not at my finest hour.
21:56What was the fight about?
21:58Brendan harangued Miranda for an advanced copy of my book and decided to use this very
22:04public forum to spoil the ending.
22:07But no one was hurt.
22:09I wasn't.
22:10And nothing stopped Brendan when he was in the mood.
22:12He took a fan back to his villa that night.
22:15Probably some poor moon-eyed, aspiring writer who thought he was the real deal.
22:20You're saying he wasn't?
22:22He was very good at selling a certain image.
22:25Especially to people he wanted to sleep with.
22:26Your image is very different though, isn't it?
22:33I mean, you know, I've read the Alex Faun novels.
22:37So you said.
22:39What did you think?
22:41Yeah.
22:42I guess the killer in the first one.
22:44When?
22:45Page 20.
22:46Oh, 15.
22:48The serviette.
22:50I mean, where else is the powder going to come from?
22:53Of course.
22:55Well, you should read the new one.
22:56It's out now and there's a red herring in it that I'm very proud of.
22:59Winning the reader one way so they don't look the other.
23:02I've improved, Detective.
23:04Well, your sales have at least.
23:07A huge jump in the last five years since Brendan stopped writing.
23:11Almost as well as Brendan in his prime.
23:13It's not a competition.
23:14So why did you put your book in front of his on the display table this morning?
23:18No idea what you're talking about.
23:24Hmm.
23:25I think you were livid that he was back with a new novel because you knew it would eat into your sales.
23:32Brandon.
23:33A Johnny Fox mystery.
23:36You're suggesting I killed Brendan over a book.
23:39Not just absurd.
23:41Impossible.
23:41I was on the panel, on camera, while he was being murdered.
23:50Well, Brendan took his research there, is there?
23:53Miranda's financials?
23:55Absolute shambles.
23:57She's deep in the red with debts.
23:59Everywhere.
24:00Brendan announcing a new Johnny Fox novel must have been very good news for her.
24:04That's a shame he didn't put the same effort into his prose as he did his handwriting.
24:09Funnel whips.
24:10Who are they?
24:11A local bikey gang.
24:13He must have been talking to them about his book.
24:16Hang on.
24:20Huh.
24:22Brendan used biro in all of these.
24:25Until his most recent one.
24:28He switched pens?
24:29Yes.
24:31Huh.
24:31To this rather expensive looking fountain pen.
24:36Going by his journals, he'd never used it before.
24:39A gift, maybe?
24:40I'll chase it up.
24:42Stationery is my thing, so...
24:44Oh.
24:45How did you go with the branded manuscript?
24:47Oh, my God, where do I start?
24:48You know what?
24:49I'm just...
24:49I'll just read it myself.
24:51I'll read it myself tonight.
24:52Okay.
25:01Frankie!
25:06It's not him!
25:08I'm sorry.
25:09How's branded?
25:25Do we know how Johnny survives being chopped up into a thousand pieces by that propeller in the last book?
25:29No.
25:30All he's said about it is that no helicopter blade is as lethal as the love of a treacherous woman.
25:37He's not wrong.
25:41Frankie?
25:48Snake.
25:48Oh, Colin, I've got to get her to the vet.
25:56Shall I call Glenn?
25:58No, no, no.
25:59Just let him enjoy his night.
26:01That's actually my body first dropped onto his head.
26:12I believe that.
26:13I believe that.
26:15All right, team.
26:16The fun bus is arriving out front, so finish your drinks and let's go!
26:21So, which of the two bars are going to?
26:23Is it your sticky floor or the other?
26:24Oh, yeah, your little face.
26:25I know you're better than that.
26:26You're a legend, Carl.
26:28You are the best man.
26:30The night's not started yet.
26:34Let's go, people!
26:38I'm in a mate.
26:39You've had some knocks lately, but you always come through.
26:43Come on, guys.
26:44All right, let's do it.
26:58How is she?
27:00Oh, yeah, they gave her the antivillum and they've put on an IV trip.
27:08Hi, Sarah.
27:11Oh, Glenn.
27:13They said that we should prepare ourselves.
27:16No change.
27:38Colin told you.
27:39Yeah, I'm glad he did.
27:47I yelled at her earlier.
27:50She was barking and barking.
27:52She was barking at the snake.
27:55She was trying to warn you, Mack.
27:57Why would you let her go off like that?
28:00No, that's not fair.
28:01No, ever since she was a puppy, she's been running around at Mum's place and at your place.
28:07This was an accident.
28:08This is not my fault.
28:10I'm not saying it's your fault.
28:11I'm saying that since you've come back, these things just keep happening.
28:17What are you talking about?
28:19Come on, Mack.
28:20You know exactly what I'm talking about.
28:23And since you've come home, everything is harder.
28:25Oh, your life.
28:26It would just be so much easier if I'd never come back.
28:28Yeah, I guess it would be.
28:33Uh-huh.
28:37I'm going to go.
28:42Yeah, you let me know if there's a change.
28:58I'm going to go.
29:28How's Frankie?
29:33Um, it could go either way.
29:37Or thing.
29:39Um, how are you?
29:42Colin, can we?
29:44Can we just work?
29:52How's Johnny Fox?
29:53Well, he's heartbroken because he found out his lover, Calypso,
29:58has found love with someone else because, well, she thought he was dead.
30:00What, fair play to her?
30:01Found love with a woman.
30:06Go on.
30:07Do you know who Calypso is in Greek mythology?
30:10Uh, would it surprise you if I told you I didn't?
30:13The one who conceals.
30:14And she's a mermaid.
30:19A mermaid?
30:20I was in love with him.
30:26I mean, it felt like love.
30:28But then everything does when you're 25.
30:30Eventually, I realised that what I really wanted was his approval.
30:34Which is part of why I had to stop working for him.
30:37To make my own way as a writer.
30:40And a person.
30:41You were tempted back to him, though, weren't you?
30:47You talk quite a lot about giving in to your desires.
30:54Is that what happened last year?
30:57When he took a fan back to his room?
31:00This poor moon-eyed, aspiring writer who thought he was the real deal.
31:04Once.
31:09A moment of weakness.
31:12Ginny and I had been going through hell with IVF.
31:14And Brendan could be very...
31:17charismatic.
31:20Ginny doesn't know.
31:24She always had a thing about Brendan.
31:26She thought that he mistreated me when I was his assistant.
31:29Did he?
31:30Maybe.
31:30Maybe.
31:31He was a terrible boss.
31:32But he was an amazing writing teacher.
31:36And now he's dead.
31:38The man who holds a secret that could ruin your relationship.
31:43You're wrong.
31:45Ginny and I went through the ringer to have Arlo.
31:48Years of IVF.
31:50If we can survive that,
31:52then me having a one-nighter with Brendan isn't going to make a dent.
32:00You look up to someone for years,
32:02they take advantage of you,
32:04then sell you out in their book.
32:06Yeah, but would you kill for it?
32:08She's right.
32:09Her and Ginny have been through a lot.
32:11Hmm.
32:11Mackenzie,
32:12a little word with you.
32:15Hmm?
32:15Is there any news on Frankie?
32:28Oh, uh, no.
32:31Well, if you need some time off,
32:32you need to go to the vet.
32:33Um,
32:35they'll update me if anything changes.
32:37Or,
32:38or Glenn.
32:39Glenn.
32:43Glenn.
32:43He's very upset about this.
32:48You know, he was quiet.
32:54Is everything okay there?
32:58Professionally?
32:59Yeah, of course.
33:01It's fine.
33:02Yeah, of course.
33:07Oh, well then.
33:08Off you go.
33:08Are you glad I came back?
33:18Am I glad?
33:20Hmm.
33:22Is me being here something that's...
33:24made your life easier?
33:29You mean professionally?
33:31Yes, I do, of course.
33:33Absolutely.
33:33What about on any other level?
33:50Don't you have something that you have to be doing?
33:52Yeah, I do.
33:53Yep.
33:53What are you two there?
34:04Nothing.
34:05No, no.
34:10It's Reggie's book.
34:12I told her I'd give it a read and give her my thoughts.
34:15Is it good?
34:16Good.
34:17Uh, look.
34:19Not my thing.
34:20Generally, I prefer something a little less...
34:24adult.
34:34Oh, my days.
34:35I mean, people can read and write whatever they want.
34:38Who am I to judge?
34:39But she was my teacher.
34:41Yeah, well, um...
34:42Good luck with that.
34:45Mamma mia!
34:48Enzo!
34:49Potrei essere tua madre!
34:52Si!
34:54Allora, se mai dovessi venire in Australia,
34:57chiamami!
34:59Si!
35:00Ciao, ciao!
35:04Ah, what a lovely bloke!
35:08What?
35:11Oh, oh!
35:12I've been learning Italian on my phone for the last few months.
35:14I'm on a 200-day streak.
35:17Anyway, that was the charming Enzo from the Greste Company in Milano.
35:23That's Milan.
35:24That is where Brennan's pen comes from.
35:28Expensive?
35:29Oh, yeah.
35:30So, why would a killer wanting to sell us a robbery gone wrong, leave it behind?
35:34Maybe they didn't know it was expensive.
35:38Did, um, Enzo...
35:40Enzo.
35:43Enzo.
35:43Yep.
35:44Did they tell us who bought it?
35:45Si!
35:45A company called 43 Global.
35:49Oh.
35:49And, uh, what do they do?
35:52They're Brennan's new publisher.
35:55Signed contract from 43 Global.
35:58A massive media company with exclusive rights to the new Johnny Fox series, starting with, uh,
36:03Branded.
36:04Not just the book.
36:06Film adaptations, television rights, graphic novels, the works.
36:1243 such sharks, they would have promised him the world.
36:17You knew.
36:17Uh, I had an idea.
36:20People talk.
36:21Losing your best-selling author.
36:24Tough break for a, uh, struggling publisher.
36:26Money and fame were all that mattered to him.
36:29Not loyalty and sure as hell, not friendship.
36:32Do you know, his first book was rejected nine times before I took it on?
36:37I mean, I built him up from nothing, and this is how he repays me.
36:41A writer of brutal crime novels gets brutally murdered.
36:45That's a story that guarantees his old best-sellers keep selling for you.
36:49Oh, yeah.
36:50I'd kill him, alright.
36:52But he was already dead when I found him.
36:58Ah, Glenn.
37:01Autopsy results, right?
37:07I haven't heard anything.
37:08Have you?
37:10No.
37:12I'm gonna go there after this.
37:15Uh, autopsy then.
37:19Fatal wound to the right lung, and the knife and the blood is a match.
37:23Any prints?
37:24No.
37:25No sign of struggle either.
37:26Which I think I can explain.
37:28Stab wound was what killed him, but I've done a basic toxin.
37:32Well.
37:33There were a lot of drugs in his room.
37:35And he took all of them.
37:37He would have been, let's just say, slow.
37:39Yep.
37:40That explains why he was stabbed in the chest, but there was no sign of a struggle.
37:47Um, his inner, his inner left wrist, was there any branding or scarification?
37:53No.
37:55No tattoos, no scars.
37:57But I suppose a tough guy, he didn't have much to show for it.
37:59Right.
38:00He had nothing to do with the funnel webs.
38:03He wasn't living Johnny Fox's life.
38:06Doesn't look like it.
38:07But someone was.
38:21What do you want now?
38:23Lena told me about Brendan, if that's why you're here.
38:25It was a dumb mistake that meant nothing.
38:27Actually, we hear about your tattoo.
38:31You've covered it in vine leaves, but it's a funnel web spider, isn't it?
38:35So?
38:36The symbol of the funnel webs bikey gang, right?
38:39Can we please see your wrist?
38:43They call it the exit fee.
38:46Punishment for leaving.
38:48You hold out your arm, grit your teeth, and once it's done, you're free.
38:55When I was working for Brendan, I told him Ginny's story.
38:59Showing off, I suppose.
39:02Wanted him to think that I was cool and dangerous.
39:04I never thought that he'd use it.
39:08So, you knew about Brendan before the announcement?
39:12Well, sort of.
39:14I mean, he rang me, trying to get my permission to use Ginny's story.
39:18I said no.
39:20You have no idea who you're dealing with.
39:23It was a threat.
39:26Yeah.
39:27It was.
39:29And I assumed that was the end of it.
39:32But then he announced it on the panel.
39:34Brandon, Johnny Fox mystery.
39:38He didn't even change the name of the gang.
39:42The connection to me is so obvious.
39:46The funnel webs would think you've spoken to Brendan.
39:49Yeah.
39:50And the one thing they don't like is publicity.
39:53You think they'd come after you in retribution?
39:56I know they would.
39:59It's a pretty good reason to want to take Brendan out of the picture, exposing you to danger
40:04like that.
40:06I have a dodgy past.
40:08I was born into it.
40:10My dad was in it.
40:11My brothers.
40:12But it was never by choice.
40:13I'm not a killer.
40:15Not even to protect your family?
40:16I'd do anything to protect my family.
40:20But I told him he couldn't use my story and assumed that was it.
40:26You're the only one that had opportunity.
40:29I had a baby strapped to me all day.
40:31I couldn't have killed anyone.
40:36Ginny had good reason to hate Brendan, putting her family in danger like that.
40:40And having a thing with Lena.
40:41Lena said Ginny didn't know beforehand, but maybe she did.
40:45But she only had a six-minute window during that Q&A.
40:47Not a lot of time.
40:48And hard to imagine her doing a thing with Arlo there.
40:51Where are we going?
40:52Fruit shop.
40:55Baby Arlo.
40:57Straps.
40:58Wow, impressive skills, Felix.
41:00Yeah, I don't have a world-best uncle mug for nothing.
41:03Okay, right.
41:04So, Ginny left the panel at 10.46, back at 10.52.
41:07Mm-hmm.
41:07Ready?
41:08Wow, wow.
41:09Baby crying.
41:10Go!
41:11Oh, no, leave it.
41:21Oh, oh, no, I'm leaving.
41:23Don't pick him up.
41:29I'm Brendan, writing in my notebook with my expensive, beautiful pen.
41:33And stabbed.
41:35Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
41:38Okay, yep, stop.
41:39And you're back at the panel.
41:42Even if you legged it, you wouldn't have made it.
41:43Then how did it happen?
41:44You dropped your pen.
41:48You dropped your pen.
41:56Which makes sense, doesn't it?
41:58Uh, does it?
42:00If someone attacked you with a knife, you dropped your pen, wouldn't you?
42:06But Brendan didn't.
42:07Maybe he didn't see them.
42:08Maybe he didn't see them.
42:09The killer surprised him.
42:10How could they surprise him when he was stabbed in the chest?
42:13There were no defensive wounds on his body.
42:14It's like he didn't fight back at all.
42:17Why not?
42:18Um, freeze response?
42:21It happens.
42:21Well, he didn't freeze when Will hit him at last year's Writers' Festival.
42:26And it's almost like he didn't see his killer coming at all, but...
42:31He didn't see them because it hadn't happened yet.
42:41What are you doing?
42:56The knife had to go somewhere.
43:01Uh, yeah.
43:02In an evidence bag.
43:06And this one?
43:11Brendan Trapmore, best-selling crime writer, murdered in his villa.
43:22But, much like his infamous rogue detective, Johnny Fox, the story of his murder wasn't what it seemed.
43:31Act 1.
43:32Brendan returns to his villa.
43:34Act 2.
43:35Lena and Miranda find his body.
43:37But the twist.
43:37Brendan wasn't actually murdered until Act 3.
43:43Our killer crafted the story of a robbery gone wrong.
43:47The smashed lock on the front door.
43:50The gold chain ripped from his neck.
43:51The bloodied knife on the deck.
43:53But I found some plot holes.
43:56I did.
43:57Mm.
43:57Including that expensive pen.
44:04Not just a gift from Brendan's new publisher.
44:07No.
44:07This pen was the unexpected complication in our killer's plot.
44:11Why would a killer who wanted to sell us a robbery not take it?
44:17I mean, it was such a dead giveaway.
44:22Because you had to leave the scene exactly as it looked when you discovered Brendan's body.
44:28Isn't that right, Lena?
44:29What?
44:34The lock on the front door, that was easy enough to fudge.
44:37You'd just leave Miranda around the back to see the knife that you'd planted there earlier.
44:42Look!
44:44And you pointed it out to her, setting your scene.
44:47A knife covered in fake blood, just like your hands when you discovered Brendan's body.
44:54It really is just such a lovely shade of red, that lip gloss.
45:00Why would I put a knife there?
45:02To sell the fiction that Brendan had already been stabbed and the fleeing killer had dropped the knife.
45:08A knife Brendan didn't see because he came in through the front door.
45:12So, what other conclusion could there be other than Brendan was dead?
45:16But he was dead.
45:17No, Miranda, he just looked it.
45:19He had fallen down there after struggling to sign his books because he had been drugged by a former assistant who knew his habits.
45:29All you had to do was slip a mix of the barbiturates and sedatives that he had on him into his whiskey before the panel.
45:38You knew that he never went to the Q&A, but he would go back for his usual smoke and drink.
45:44Come on.
45:44Come on.
45:49When the drugs took effect, Brendan tried to stand to get help or to get to his bed.
45:55I don't know, but the important thing is he was holding that pen when he slid to the floor and fell unconscious.
46:05Which brings me to the note.
46:09Ginny said as his assistant, you did everything for Brendan.
46:12She signed his books for him, the works.
46:14It's a pretty good copy of Brendan's handwriting.
46:17This would be this note.
46:22Why would I do that?
46:24Invite myself and Miranda there to make sure you had a witness.
46:28Someone to say Brendan was dead when you found him.
46:32And then when Miranda left to call the police, that's when you took your chance.
46:42And then you quickly staged the scene to look like a robbery.
46:48Smashing the lock.
46:50Gripping the chain.
46:51Lifting his wallet.
46:53But you couldn't take that pen.
46:55Miranda had already seen it.
46:59Robbery scene set.
47:00You swapped the real murder weapon for the knife covered in your lip gloss that you had planted there earlier.
47:08Then there was only one thing left to do.
47:11Drop the decoy knife down the drain.
47:12The same drain that Miranda broke her designer heel on.
47:17Your prints were all over it, Lena.
47:19Brendan Trapmore put your family at risk from the funnel webs.
47:30But as it so happens, he put your family at risk in more ways than one.
47:37As we all know, in Greek mythology, Calypso...
47:42A mermaid whose name translates as she who conceals.
47:46I had a one-night stand.
47:49So what?
47:50With Brendan at this venue at last year's festival, that's what.
47:54That is how you knew there was no phone reception in Brendan's villa
47:57and Miranda would need to leave to call the police.
48:00Giving you your chance to shut him up for good.
48:05Why would she do that?
48:07And in your room we found...
48:18Lactation medication.
48:20To help Ginny breastfeed.
48:23Because you're Arlo's birth mother.
48:26Aren't you, Lena? Not Ginny.
48:31Fine.
48:31I did the IVF. I carried Arlo. Ginny breastfeeds.
48:36That doesn't prove anything.
48:40Are you going to tell her?
48:42Or am I?
48:50Arlo is Brendan's son.
48:51Oh.
48:56No.
48:57No, that's not possible.
48:59Mm-mm.
49:00Conceived a year ago at last year's Writers' Festival.
49:03It's three months old, isn't he?
49:05You can't prove that.
49:07I already have.
49:09Sorry.
49:10He's a bit of a skewer.
49:13The DNA's a match.
49:15Brendan was Arlo's father.
49:16You knew he would hold that over you forever.
49:21You knew that even though you and Ginny have survived so much,
49:25that was the one threat that could break your family apart.
49:31After everything we've been through...
49:34I couldn't risk losing our family.
49:37I couldn't.
49:40And now you have.
49:41Yes.
49:46Lynne Shaw, you're under arrest for murder of Brendan Catman.
49:51Please.
49:52Please.
49:56You don't have to say or do anything,
49:58but anything you do say or do,
50:00maybe you'll use it in a place.
50:01Oh, no.
50:16No.
50:17Stealing someone else's story.
50:18I am all for artistic inspiration,
50:21but my writing comes from my own life.
50:24The real storytelling is about going deep
50:27into your own experiences,
50:30so your imagination and maybe your fantasies, yeah?
50:34And then spinning a yarn out of that.
50:36You know what I mean, Felix?
50:37Yeah.
50:38How did you go with the Rocco files there?
50:41Yeah, Felix, how did you go with the Rocco files?
50:43Uh, very, uh, interesting.
50:48Love, very interesting.
50:50We'd only get you a four out of ten
50:51for a book report in my class.
50:54You can do better than that.
50:55Mm.
50:56Look, I just...
50:59I don't think it was quite for me.
51:02Ah.
51:03So you don't like well-plotted,
51:06with complex characters,
51:09and he gently touches her...
51:11Oh, no.
51:13Oh!
51:14Oh!
51:14I gave you the wrong one.
51:20I didn't mean to give you...
51:22This is not crime fiction at all.
51:26No, it's not.
51:28It's like a personal story,
51:30an exploration.
51:34Yeah, I got that part.
51:35You actually read it?
51:37Well, most of it.
51:38I had to stop myself at the hot tub bit.
51:40You should have kept going.
51:41That's where the narrative really reaches its climax.
51:44Wow.
51:45Power of literature.
51:47Oh.
51:48Speaking of power,
51:49huh?
51:50I still have the real Rocco files here,
51:54if anybody's keen, Cole.
51:56I've got, uh, uh, jiu-jitsu.
51:59Uh, same.
52:00I mean, I have, uh...
52:02Washing.
52:03Washing?
52:05Overdue for the eye check.
52:06And everything's a little bit, uh, blurry.
52:08Blurry.
52:09Mm-hmm.
52:14Always an excellent student, that one.
52:17Oh, Frankie!
52:19Hello!
52:20Oh, goodness.
52:24She's not supposed to run.
52:27You're not supposed to run.
52:29You're such a naughty girl.
52:31I thought you wanted to see her the moment she got out.
52:36Oh.
52:36So, um, what, she's going to be okay?
52:42Yeah.
52:43Keep an eye on her, keep her fluids up, and she should be fine.
52:46Oh.
52:47Oh, you're so clever.
52:48And make sure you keep her out of the...
52:49Yeah, keep her out of the garden?
52:51Yeah.
52:51Ooh, I know.
52:52Look, at the vet last night, it was a really stressful situation.
53:01Yeah.
53:04I might have said some things about it being easier if you weren't here.
53:08She's okay.
53:09She's okay.
53:10Yeah, she's okay.
53:12So, uh...
53:14We're good to do the box.
53:16Like, properly this time.
53:17We must.
53:19I'm sorry, I interrupted.
53:21You finish what you're saying, and we'll go.
53:23Uh, nothing important, just to say it's not true.
53:31What's not true?
53:34Uh, that once a dog is bitten by a snake, it's immune.
53:41Right.
53:43It's not true.
53:45And, uh, it's a myth, and it is a dangerous one.
53:49Lesson learnt.
53:50Yeah.
53:51We're good to go?
53:52Got to get this box in the road.
53:53Wedding's only around the corner.
53:57Right, let's do it.
54:00See you, mate.
54:11Professional?
54:12Always.
54:31Welcome to, uh, Daisy and Glenn's wedding.
54:33Awkward.
54:34No, you.
54:34Look.
54:35Don't panic, everyone!
54:37Contact poison.
54:38The chances are the killer is still here.
54:40Stop!
54:41Police!
54:41You're in a criminal conspiracy with her.
54:43Not a crime.
54:44Yes, it is.
54:45I think everyone's having a really good time.
54:47You know the fraud I found on the beach?
54:49She is a bit annoying, though.
54:50Glenn and Daisy are more than a couple to me.
54:53They're the family that found me and make me feel at home.
54:58If there are no objections, I will proceed.
55:00We'll be right back to you.
55:01We'll be right back to you.
55:01We'll be right back to you.
55:02We'll be right back to you.
55:02We'll be right back to you.
55:02We'll be right back to you.
55:03We'll be right back to you.
55:03We'll be right back to you.
55:04We'll be right back to you.
55:05We'll be right back to you.
55:06We'll be right back to you.
55:07We'll be right back to you.
55:08We'll be right back to you.
55:09We'll be right back to you.
55:10We'll be right back to you.
55:11We'll be right back to you.
55:12We'll be right back to you.
55:13We'll be right back to you.
55:14We'll be right back to you.
55:15We'll be right back to you.
55:16We'll be right back to you.
55:17We'll be right back to you.
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